Previous
Chapter 28
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Knife of Never Letting Go, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Cost of Violence
Information vs. Knowledge
Bigotry and Misogyny
Humanity’s Connection to Nature
Summary
Analysis
Manchee leads Todd into the woods, saying he can smell Viola and she’s afraid. As Todd walks, he wonders if Aaron knew the knife had Spackle blood on it and if the Spackle blood will be poisonous to Todd’s system. All of a sudden, he seems to see Aaron lean out at him from behind a tree, but Aaron quickly disappears. Todd sees Aaron again in the reflection of the water, where Aaron calls Todd a killer.
This passage reveals how Todd’s current sickness is a direct result of his own decision to attack the Spackle. The novel has explored the idea of how violence can be contagious, and this chapter takes the idea to its logical extreme, where violence leads to a literal disease that causes Todd to lose track of his senses.
Themes
Todd keeps thinking he hears the word “killer.” Aaron seems to keep appearing and disappearing to taunt Todd. Still, Todd begins to feel a little better after getting some food from Wilf and Jane. Todd keeps going and finds himself suddenly stepping into a settlement that’s been destroyed. At the center of the destruction is Aaron, who says the church always has a place open for Todd. Aaron says that Todd has a chance to “eat from the Tree of Knowledge”—all he has to do is kill Aaron. Aaron sticks out his chest to welcome Todd’s knife.
The novel once again references the Biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Aaron casts himself in the role of the serpent—Satan in disguise—who tempts Eve to disobey God and eat from a forbidden fruit. Although this passage is dark, it also has a satirical element as it highlights how zealots can fail to understand or deliberately misrepresent the beliefs they supposedly follow.
Themes
Todd tells Aaron he’s already killed, but Aaron says a Spackle doesn’t count. He taunts Todd about how it took Viola a long time to die. Todd finally brings his knife down but finds that he’s stabbing Viola instead. She calls him “killer,” then her whole body disappears. Todd finds that he still has the knife in his hand with no blood on it. He realizes that as much as he wants to, he can’t kill Aaron after all. Aaron doesn’t seem to really be there.
Although Todd himself is haunted by killing the Spackle, Aaron doesn’t recognize the Spackle as sentient and so doesn’t count Todd’s actions as a killing. When Todd hallucinates stabbing Aaron, only for Aaron to turn into Viola, this suggests how violence often has collateral effects and doesn’t just hurt the intended targets. It also reveals all the guilt that Todd has been carrying with him since stabbing the Spackle.
Themes
Now, Todd sees a hundred versions of Aaron surrounding him. They all call him “coward,” but Todd tries to ignore them as he follows Manchee, who has just gotten a new scent. At last, Todd seems to reach the real Aaron, kneeling in prayer in front of Viola.
Todd hasn’t fully shaken Aarons’ influence over him, but in this passage, Todd has an important moment of character growth by finally learning to ignore the voices in his head saying “coward” and instead make his own decisions about what’s the right thing to do.
Themes
Get the entire The Knife of Never Letting Go LitChart as a printable PDF.
